The present invention relates to automatic stud welding equipment wherein a headed stud is fed to a retaining collet on the gun, and more particularly to a stud receiver for a gun of this type which facilitates removal of jammed studs from the device.
Various stud welding devices are known in which headed studs, commonly T-studs, are fed by pneumatic pressure to a collet or stud holding device which retains the stud for welding. Devices of this type are disclosed in United States Patent 3,582,602 in the name of Donald H. Ettinger and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, and in copending United States patent application entitled "Stud Welding Tool" filed in the name of Donald H. Ettinger, Ser. No. 839 397, on Oct. 4, 1977. In devices of this type, as a rule there is provided a metallic rod which is aligned with the stud collet and serves to force the stud into the collet and apply a force to the head of the stud during the welding operation.
For this reason, the stud must generally be fed into the conduit leading to the collet from a path which intersects the axis of the collet or stud retaining means. It is therefore been found advantageous to feed the stud in a direction normal to the axis of the stud along a path which terminates in the circular bore leading to the stud receiving collet. It is generally at this point that jamming in the device will occur, if at all, due to the change in direction of the stud from a path perpendicular to its axis to a path normal to its axis. When this occurs, it is generally necessary that the gun be taken out of service and a new one substituted for it, as the gun generally must be disassembled with appropriate tools in order to unjam the feedpath of the stud.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a stud welding gun having means for automatically feeding studs to the barrel of the gun which includes a stud receiver block facilitating removal of jammed studs from the device.
Another object of the invention is to provide a device for welding headed studs to a work surface having an automatic stud feeding arrangement wherein a stud receiving block is provided with a readily removable portion for removing jammed studs from the gun.
A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the type described wherein the studs which become jammed adjacent the welding head are readily removed without the use of tools and without extensive delay in use of the gun for continued service.